


A Kiss To remember

by Ladibard_Wordsmith28



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Birthday Fluff, F/M, First Kiss, Past Relationship(s), Photographs, Post-Divorce, Secret Crush, Temporarily Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25693468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladibard_Wordsmith28/pseuds/Ladibard_Wordsmith28
Summary: Hermione Granger holds on to the photograph of her first Kiss. She did not share it with Harry, Ron, or Krum. She is soon to get divorced. Her husband, Ron Weasley would rather stay by the mother of his unborn child, Pansy Parkinson. Granger was not really looking forward to celebrating her birthday at Harry's place. And the quiet, brooding Herbology Professor wasn't aware that his secret crush was holding on to photograph that captured his first kiss with him for so long. Well, of course, we got several cupids to thank- Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, and the resident potion master of Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom, Lavender Brown/Parvati Patil, Luna Lovegood/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	A Kiss To remember

**_Disclaimer_ ** :  _ The regular disclaimer still stays in place, I owe nothing but the AU and OC. The rest belongs to JKR. My mind lives in the Harry Potter fanfiction world though my body is still thankfully anchored in the monotonous reality of existence. My themes, plotline, and storyline may, therefore, get indirectly influenced by many of the brilliant fanfiction writers on this site. And I humbly bow to such creative genius who give me much needed literary pleasures to see through the toils of mundane life. This is my very first Neville/Hermione. Reviews would encourage this introvert writer to peep out of her literary closet. I don’t have a beta reader/editor, so I usually come back in a day or two to fix the mistakes. _

* * *

**A kiss to Remember**

The newly appointed Herbology Professor sat on the leather armchair and watched the birthday girl with interest. Harry Potter had organized a small but remarkable birthday party for her at his residence, Grimmauld Place. But Neville Longbottom was aware, the Brightest witch of the age not up for it. 

_ Ronald Weasley had filed for divorce papers, a new addition to the traditional magical society. Longbottom believed it was rather a savior. After the Daily Prophet had printed the juiciest of scandals of the year, the ginger head was left with no other option. Pansy Parkinson, that ever whining Slytherin Queen had dropped very subtle hints about her being pregnant and a very reliable source had owled photographs of the star English Keeper of the Chudley Cannons, wrapped in the witch’s arms.  _

_ Malfoy, the Potion Master, had tapped his chin, while Neville was busy preparing the herbs bed at his Green House at Hogwarts,” Reliable source- bollocks, its Pansy, I am telling you. Once she sets her eyes on something, she goes wild. Ever since the war ended, she had her eyes for Our King Weasley.” _

_ “And you will know that because…” digging out a bit of loose earth, Neville asked, simply to humor the other man. _

_ “Seven long years, I have tolerated her dangling around my neck. We will have to see how a weasel can tame a viper like her.” Malfoy grimaced. _

_ “Indeed. I was not surprised when Ron gave no excuse. Harry said, he just walked into Hermione’s Ministry office, didn’t even bother who else was hearing into their conversation, and said right on her face, ‘At least, she is good enough to bear a child, and I get to be a dad. Look, let’s not fuss about this, I move on, and you continue mothering the ministry. Let’s part amicably.” Before leaving he had the guts to throw the words casually at her,” You will hear from my lawyer.” _

_ The blonde man halted watching Longbottom’s features closely. He did not miss that hardened jaw, neither did he miss how his knuckles had turned white with disguised anger. _

_ “I have already heard this from Harry. Care to tell, Malfoy, why you chose to repeat the whole thing?” Longbottom asked but Draco did not miss the hidden warning behind his words. _

_ He chuckled, smirked, and shrugged before turning and walking towards the door. Stopping right on to the door frame, he tapped the wood and got the Herbology professor’s attention. Winking at him, he said,” When you love a woman, Longbottom, you don’t peck her on the cheek to say good morning, good day or goodnight. You snog her senseless, making sure she knows it well enough, she is thoroughly loved...and will be loved forever. And when you need to be apart from her for a while, you snog her several times. Because you would wish her to remember that when you get back to her, you would love her equally. Weasel was a sloppy pecker, I hope you know what you got to do. Potter is trying to cheer the witch up. He has asked a couple of real friends to drop by and cheer her up as well.”  _

_ As soon as the blonde strutted away, Neville dropped his tools and sat down on the nearest tool, wondering if his affection for Hermione was so apparent that even the ferret could see it. _

He watched George Weasley and Percy Weasley talking to her. Only those too still dropped by and said hello to her. Mrs. Luna Malfoy and her husband were waltzing near the gramophone. Harry was helping his wife Astoria in clearing the dinner table and storing away the leftovers. Granger, he noticed, was glancing at him, now and then. He never noticed Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil approach him from the back of the chair. 

“Ah, Lav, did we catch Neville eyeing someone?”, Patil crooned.

Lav chuckled and replied,” Aw, Olive my love, I can’t say much about Neville but we do remember Granger grabbing both of us in our dorm right after the Yule Ball and asking us about...what was her exact question?”

They both leaned close to Neville’s ears from either side and whispered,” How do you define a good kiss?” The man gulped and his ears grew red. He softly murmured without turning to the giggling witches,” Your point exactly?”

Patil had snaked her arm over his lapel and tucked a piece of paper in his breast pocket. The witches tickled the nape of his neck, and murmured seductively, “That thing fell from her Hogwarts: A History. She uses it as a bookmark. I wonder what she gave Collins to keep his mouth shut about that,” Lavender had tapped his pocket, and with that they two left.

The desire to see what was in the godforsaken gloss paper was overriding his senses. He watched Granger with hooded eyes and downed his firewhiskey in one go. When he placed the tumbler back on the side table, he tried hard not to draw much attention to himself. Eyeing the room stupendously, he got up and walked out. 

Draco whistled and Luna arched her eyebrow at him,” You have been too secretive of late, and now you are whistling. Husband, do I need to revise my hexes?”

“Pray, Love, you got two love birds to blame for my preoccupation,” Draco replied innocently.

“Names?”

“Granger and Longbottom..well, don’t get your knickers into a twist yet. This generous husband of yours has been busy nudging Longbottom to act on his secret obsession, his prima desire, his unrecruited love for our brightest witch.” Luna’s mouth fell slightly and Draco swooped down to kiss her.

When they parted, he nudged his head and Luna bit her lips to stop herself from reacting at the sight of her friend, a very confused Hermione Granger making a beeline for the closed door of the living room.

Neville was standing at the foot of the stairs watching the moving photograph fondly. Collins that hyper boy had clicked the moment well. They were hidden in an alcove. Granger wanted to know what it was to kiss a boy and he too wished to learn about what it feels like to kiss a girl, ‘while she flutters in your arms’. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas had the raunchiest descriptions to share. But the shy Griffindor knew it would feel heavenly. Most definitely heavenly if he would ever get the chance to kiss Granger.

_ But he couldn’t muster the courage to ask her to be his date at the Yule Ball. Victor Krum had already asked her to be his partner for the night.  _

_ Patting her pink dress the witch had chewed her lips and offered him a shy smile,” When you know, I have read everything about it, the dos and the don’t as well. Every article said you need to go by the feeling like that is even helpful. I could ask this favor from Harry. And I am definitely not asking this favor from Ron Weasley. So, well, you know..”  _

_ Neville had smiled goofily and had hushed her rambling by placing a finger over her bright pink lips,” Hey, it’s just me, Neville, you don’t need to get nervous around me. If it helps, this is going to be my first kiss as well.” _

_ They had smiled at each other awkwardly then had slowly leaned towards each other. He still remembered how her hands had come up to wrap over his arms and how she had stepped too close to him, close enough for him to peep down her neckline and blush profusely. Thankfully, Granger had already closed her eyes and he had murmured to himself, ‘well, dunderhead, it’s now or never.’ _

_ He had leaned forward and tentatively brushed his lips over her slightly parted ones. But that undid him. He had cautiously wrapped her hand around her petite waist and had kissed her slowly tenderly. Nipping and sucking her lips, enjoying the way her hands were feeling up his arms and chest. She was the one to run the tip of her tongue over his lips. He distinctly remembered how he was moaned and had gathered his wits together to deepen the kiss. Collins had captured the photograph from this moment till the point where they had parted and rested their head over each other, smiling brightly. _

Hermione tiptoed down the steps until she was standing right over his shoulder. She watched both the man and the photograph in his hand. Neville whispered loud enough,” Never knew that bloke had caught us unaware. But I am in two minds to go and punch his face or to go and treat him with a bottle of firewhiskey.”

She whispered back, tucking her trembling fingers behind her, in case, she ended up doing something she was not prepared for,” Couldn’t let the whole world know, could I? That my first kiss was not with Harry, Ron, or Mclaggen, is it with you.”

He turned his head and looked over his shoulder, with the same goofily smile,” And was I any good?”

She blinked and smiled,” I knew Ron was cheating on me. I was aware of his many affairs. Funny, in ten years, we both were together only for just fourteen months. And things just fizzled out after the second year. I am holding on to that picture for the last eight years.”

“I see, on my defense, Hermione I can only say, I have been reliving this moment since the Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament,” Neville blinked and looked back at the picture. He cleared his throat and turned to give it back to her.

But Hermione grabbed his hand midway. Her eyes had welled up, her lips were trembling. She sniffed and closed her eyes guiltily. A single finger brushed against her cheek, she looked up and found Neville was wiping off her tears. He leaned forward and spoke millimeters away from her trembling lips,” I don’t believe Malfoy, trust me, he still struts like a peacock. He said the other day, ’ _When you love a woman, Longbottom, you don’t peck her on the cheek to say goodbye. You snog her senseless, making sure she knows it well enough, she is thoroughly loved...and will be loved forever.’_ I know you are not ready not yet with everything so fresh and raw and painful. But I confess I do look forward to that day, I get to kiss you like that,” pointing at the picture,” once again and again and again, till death do us apart.”

He leaned up and kissed her between her brows and whispered against her warm skin,” Happy Birthday Hermione Granger, the Brightest Witch of my life.”

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A/N: [SorceressofMagic ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorceressofMagic/pseuds/SorceressofMagic)Hope you will enjoy it, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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